On Monday 29th July, 2013, at about 4:35 pm Police at Marsh Harbour Police Station received a report form a local Doctor in Marsh Harbour regarding a shark bite which occurred at 4:05 pm just off Scotland Cay. The victim is a 40 year old United States visitor of Harborside Circle, Largo, Florida.

The victim’s wife stated that the family had just left Green Turtle Cay on their 31 foot vessel to enjoy some swimming and paddle boarding, when the incident occurred.

The injuries were described by the local Doctor as serious. The victim was airlifted to a Miami based medical facility for further medical treatment.

You would think that if you were bitten by a shark, twice by monkeys and a rattlesnake and lived to tell about it, that you were a lucky person. Erik Norrie, who experienced all that, said he’s not so much lucky as he is blessed.

Norrie, 41, of Seminole, had his latest mishap occur six weeks ago in the Bahamas when a 5-foot shark took a chunk out of his leg and nearly killed him. The story has the makings of a television movie.

“My family and I were picnicking on a sand bar offshore. It was a beautiful day with clear, beautiful water,” he said. “I decided to see if I could get something for dinner so I put on my mask and snorkel and dived down. Sure enough I speared a grouper and was heading back to the boat when I felt a tremendous blow to my leg. I managed to kick myself up to the sand bar in shallow enough water to stand up and when I did there was blood squirting in three different directions.”

Norrie’s wife, Spryng, saw the whole thing.

“I was on a paddle board out in the water. It was pretty scary,” she said. “My world was turning into a television show right before my eyes. The water was turning red, it was pretty scary.”

Norrie said at that moment he wasn’t scared at all. He said his faith took over.

“I’m a Christian and I’d have to say at that moment the Norrie switch turned off and the Lord’s switch turned on,” he said. “I managed to get the tubing off my spear gun and use it as a tourniquet around my leg to stop the bleeding. My oldest daughter Haley, who is 18, got on the radio and called for help. By then I was able to crawl out of the water onto the rocks to get away from the shark and get my leg out of the water.”

Norrie, the CEO of a Clearwater yacht refinishing company, said he wasn’t alone; his father-in-law, Rick Martin, stood between him and the shark and his friend Dave Fox kayaked over to help him get back into the boat. And nearby others came to help including a vacationing trauma doctor. Together they made him comfortable and headed to a small clinic about 10 miles away.

“As we were running the doctor said to my wife that it didn’t look good. I had lost a lot of blood. I thought I was going to die; my arm turned really gray.”

It was then, Norrie said, that a miracle happened, at least as far as he was concerned.

“Just then it was as if God touched me on my head, I have never felt anything like it before. It just didn’t make sense how I could have perfect peace. Then I knew everything was going to be all right. It was just one miracle after another.”

After spending several hours in the clinic in the Bahamas, Norrie was eventually flown to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami where he spent two days and had surgery. Then he was moved to Tampa General Hospital, where he had more surgery.

The shark had bitten a chunk of his leg 7 inches by 9 inches and 2 inches deep.

“Here it is, six weeks later and no crutches and no walker; I am doing good,” he said.

Norrie said experts have told him the shark attacked him because it perceived him as a threat because he had taken food from its territory.

The shark not only got a chunk of Norrie’s leg, but it got the grouper too. Norrie let that go as soon as he was bitten.